Shattered World
by charlie.woodward.739
Summary: With both of her parents gone, Astrid Kelly is alone. Or is she? As Krei is targeted again in a sinister plot, the Big Hero 6 band together to save their diminishing reputation in a high octane action packed adventure. For Astrid, a more emotional journey lies ahead of her as she begins to learn that she isn't really alone.
1. Chapter 1: Best Day

**Hello everybody! This is my very first story on Fanfiction so it probably will not be the best thing since sliced bread. I am doing this because I am a budding writer and I would like to write for TV shows and Films but currently I am not confident in thinking of new ideas so this is what I am doing now in my spare time to help build my confidence.**

 **I hope you enjoy the stories I create and please support me by liking and reviewing or whatever it is you guys and girls do on here. In advance, thank you so very much for helping me in my quest for confidence. :)**

 **This story takes place after the film and the events of the film did happen (No Tadashi sorry!).**

 **Again, thanks in advance for the support! I greatly appreciate it!**

* * *

The atmosphere inside the Lucky Cat Café had never been more thrilling on a typical Tuesday night. Downstairs, Aunt Cass was cheerily cleaning up the endless mess of food and drink that had somehow covered every inch of the café floor. Upstairs, Astrid waited, full of excitement, as her phone was connecting her to her mother. Stood behind her was her best friend Hiro Hamada who was giving her a goofy smile. He was so proud of her. When he first met her, she was a shy nervous wreck trying to gain entry into SFIT with her water purifying invention. He grew incredibly fond of her after spending months working with her to help build her confidence. Now, she would start next year in the same class as him. He couldn't hardly wait!

* * *

"Next presenter: Astrid Kelly!"

Nobody walked onto the stage. After an eternity of waiting the officials gave up.

"Unfortunately our next presenter is not present at this time so we will now have a 15 minute break before we continue with the presentations."

Hiro was confused. They spent ages working on building her confidence up.

"I'll be right back" Hiro whispered to Aunt Cass "I just need the toilet."

His real plan was to look for Astrid. It did not take him long to spot the fifteen year old hiding behind the "super cool robot butler" exhibit. They were nothing compared to his karate chopping walking marshmallow of a friend. Her face was buried between her knees. Without saying anything, Hiro sat on the floor next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. Her face slowly lifted and her long brown hair parted like a pair of curtains to show a nervous set of brown eyes to meet Hiro's concerned stare.

"So" Hiro whispered softly, "what's happening?"

"I'm terrified" Astrid whispered back practically hugging her invention. "I am going to get this wrong. I will look like a right monkey!"

Hiro leaned in closer. "Hey. Everybody is scared sometimes" He felt a tense Astrid begin to relax. "When I was two I used to be scared of the dark. Used to have nightmares about it. Then, one day, we had a blackout."

Astrid looked shocked. "Well that's convenient!"

Hiro smiled at her remark and continued. "It was the middle of the night, we were watching the TV and the power suddenly went out plunging us into darkness."

"What happened?" Astrid asked.

"Everything" Hiro reminisced. "My world ended, my heart broke" Hiro smirked slightly "Then my mum and dad found me!"

Astrid smiled with him. His stories were always incredibly cute!

"She carried me to bed, tucked me up, kissed me on the head and made me a promise."

"What did she say?" A curious Astrid asked.

"She promised me that no matter how dark it would get she would always come and find me." He pondered over what he just said. How can she keep her promise now? They died a year later!

"So you were never scared again!" Astrid concluded snapping Hiro out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I was scared loads of times but never of darkness."

Astrid sighed. He overcame his fear in one night and here she was still worrying about this moment after thinking she could cope.

"So, what are you scared about exactly?" Hiro asked.

"Getting this wrong and embarrassing myself!" She replied as if it was obvious.

"Do you think you'll get it wrong?" Hiro asked. "I don't. I don't think you'll get it wrong."

Astrid's eyes were fixed on his. "I think that you, Astrid Kelly, will knock this out of the park!"

Astrid, without even thinking, threw herself into his arms. It was reasons like this why she knew he was the greatest friend she ever had.

"I am back!" Hiro whispered to a surprised Aunt Cass.

"Sometimes you scare me more than the horror movies we watch!" Laughed Aunt Cass.

"I convinced her to go for it. She will be coming on any moment now" he said. Sure enough, clutching her purifier, a nervous Astrid was waiting at the bottom of the stage steps.

"Dinner is on me if she cracks it!" Aunt Cass confidently said.

"Apologies for the delay" The loudspeaker announced "Out next presenter is now ready to go. Please welcome to the stage: Astrid Kelly!"

Astrid took a deep breath and made her way towards the visceral noise of clapping and cheering. "This is my time now" she thought to herself " I am not going without a fight."

* * *

She never thought she would get a standing ovation but she did. The new head of SFIT, Abigail Callaghan, shook her hand and declared to the crowd, "For a truly spectacular invention that addresses one of the biggest environmental problems in our world today, I am proud to award Astrid Kelly the honour of becoming a student here at the San Fransokio Institute of Technology!"

Unable to hold back the tears, she took the admission letter from Callaghan's hand and bowed to the roaring crowd. She ran down the steps into the open arms of Hiro who waited eagerly for her.

"What did I tell you!" Hero happily chanted as they both jumped up and down in each other's arms. All Astrid could do was scream in delight.

Astrid, Hiro, Aunt Cass, Fred, GoGo, Honey Lemon and Wasabi celebrated for hours with free food, music and a marathon of horror movies. But now came the event that Astrid was waiting for all day: the phone call to her mother.

This would be the call she would remember for the rest of her life.

But for all the wrong reasons.


	2. Chapter 2: The Call

**Hope you enjoy part 2 of this story! Let me know on how I am doing! :D**

* * *

Jessica Kelly sighed after stepping off the bus. She slowly walked back home shattered after a training exercise. Never before did being in the Air Force suck. The view from above was always breathtaking but she wanted the view this time to be staring at her daughter making her and her late husband proud.

She constantly worried over the possibility that her daughter did not gain admission. Astrid being sad was the last thing she needed after a long day of testing military planes. The last few months had taken its toll of both of them. Not only was Astrid always upset about the death of her dad, she also never truly believed that she could get into SFIT. When Jessica tried to convince her otherwise, Astrid would just accuse her of lying. On her days off she would sit in the Lucky Cat Café frustrated that Astrid was angry at her for lying since she just would not believe that she could do it. Then, one day, a kind offer from one fifteen year old genius would cement her friendship with the Hamadas forever. That's when Hiro came in to help.

The Lucky Cat Café pretty much became a second home for Astrid. She would spend a few hours a week with Hiro Hamada after school in his room mulling over her water purifier. Jessica would come down for lunch and walk her back home. Sometimes they would chat… Sometimes they would walk home in silence.

"My god stop daydreaming!" Jessica muttered to herself, her full attention now on the roads. She needed to get home and rest for a while.

San Fransokio was the city that never sleeps. Sod New York! It is always rush hour here. At least she lived in a relatively quiet area of the city. Living in a flat slap bang where the action is would drive her to the verge of insanity. The endless beeping of horns would drive her and Astrid up the wall! No wonder every passer by looked incredibly depressed. The horns were getting on their nerves too.

The endless assault of car horns had managed to block out the noise of her mobile phone ringing. It was only a few moments later when she felt it vibrate slightly in her pocket she realised her phone was trying to get her attention.

"For gods sake" she muttered as she fumbled desperately into her pocket, fishing her phone out. If it was a call from work she would be annoyed. She had enough of the Air Force for one day, not allowing her to see her daughter on this special day. If it was an emergency call asking her to get back to work, her sanity would officially be finished. After seeing that is was in fact Astrid that was ringing. She suddenly changed her mind and was now more than happy to answer the call.

* * *

After waiting more than an age an all too familiar voice finally spoke on Astrid's phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god hello mum!" Astrid shouted in delight. "I was starting to think that you could not pick up! I have not heard from you all weekend!"

"Can't exactly call you when I am flying a plane now can't I?" She remarked "I tried to tell them that I just had to be there on your special day but they would not listen! They think that saving lives and protecting our country is more important than being there for you on the most important day of your life so far!"

"Well… I have some news" Astrid teased.

"And?" She asked. The anticipation was evident in her voice.

"I have… Become a student!"

The sheer amount of screaming that was heard on the phone made Astrid and Hiro burst into laughter.

"Oh my god I can't bloody believe it!" She cried "I told you that you could do it!"

"I can't believe it myself!" Astrid remarked.

"I may have just embarrassed myself in front of hundreds of people waiting to cross the road but I don't care! This is fantastic news!"

Astrid could picture the commotion she was causing. Her mum would stick out like a sore thumb and the tired tide of depressed Tuesday night faces would look up at her wondering how anybody could be so happy after yet another torturous day of work.

"Hiro is to thank though! Without him I never would have stepped onto the stage!"

Astrid then talked about Hiro's inspiring speech to her on the day. She felt herself tearing up as she recounted exactly what she said on stage and the visceral roar of the crowd. afterwards. Hiro just stayed silent. He did not want to ruin her perfect day.

"I bet you partied like you never partied before!" Her mum chirped.

"We are exhausted!" Astrid raced through her reply "We spent the whole night watching horror movies and eating cake and doughnuts. Then we had a disco night in the café. Everybody was doing The Macarena and the Cha Cha Slide!"

Jessica could not believe how happy she sounded! It has been ages since she last sounded this happy!

"The Macarena is the best song ever!" She replied "I really don't care that it is played at every disco ever! It's still a blast!"

Astrid jumped up and down in agreement "I know right!" She screamed. She could not contain her excitement and happiness any longer. Hiro laid a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down before she jumped so much that the floor would collapse.

"I am going back to SFIT tomorrow." She said in a calmer tone."The gang wish to show me my new workspace!"

"I'll pop in at around lunchtime!" Her mum declared "I want to see your swanky new office! Then we celebrate back home with fish and chips?"

Astrid's favourite food was fish and chips. "Deal!" She said.

"Well I am almost home now. Soon as I get in I will knock myself out and sleep knowing that I don't have to worry about you coming home all sad because you didn't get in."

Astrid smiled knowing that everything was right in the world for both of them for once.

"Before you go…" Astrid's mind suddenly went blank. Her mind fought desperately to finish off the sentence.

"Yes sweetie?"

"I love you"

"Aaawww I love you too!"

"No not like that" Astrid butted in "Not the I love you just to stop us from arguing all the time. Not the I love you when you are not so sure that you do. I truly mean it this time."

Jessica was confused "What's brought all this up?"

"We argued so much mum… I put you through hell. Now the arguing stops… Forever."

Jessica's heartstrings tightened as she began to cross the road.

"Um… Hello?"

No answer.

"Come on don't leave me hanging!" Astrid tried to fill the silence as she waited for a reply.

"Mum I love you and you're the only person that I will say that to."

No answer.

Hiro looked concerned "What's going on?" He inquired.

"I have no idea" Astrid answered, worried.

A voice suddenly spoke on the phone.

"H…Hello…Is there anybody there?"

The voice sounded old… And very, very frightened. Astrid was concerned.

"Hello… Who is this?"

"I… I found this phone across the road"

"Um… Great… Please could you… hand this phone back to Jessica? I was talking to my mum, Jessica."

"I'm so sorry… She was not looking when she crossed the road… And then… The car…"

Astrid stood shock still. This was all she needed to hear. She dropped her phone and booked it out of the café with Hiro in hot pursuit. She could hear the sounds of sirens wailing.

The old voice was still talking on the phone as if she was still there.

"I'm so sorry… I truly am… But I don't think she is going to make it."


	3. Chapter 3: Famous Last Words

**This is quite possibly the best thing I have ever written. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it! :)**

 **As usual please let me know on how I am doing! Thank you! :D**

* * *

"Meet me at Cass' right now… It's important."

They were Hiro's best friends so they did what best friends always do.

As they're told.

So here they were; Fred, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and GoGo huddled around a table with Aunt Cass with unsure looks on their faces. Judging by the ungodly hour in the morning, this would be very important.

All five of them sat there in silence. The shop was closed. The room was so silent that the usually inaudible tick tock of the clock seemed… Deafening.

Sure enough, drenched in the rain, Hiro entered the café and slowly made his way to join them.

"Hello" he quietly mumbled.

This was not going to be good news.

GoGo was the only one brave enough to get Hiro to get straight to the point.

"What's happened" she asked.

Hiro took a deep breath.

"Jessica Kelly."

"Yes?" The group collectively asked.

"Is dying."

Those two words hit all of them like a cannonball. Their faces were in shock. None of them said anything.

"Astrid is waiting for news in the hospital."

Unable to hold it in any longer, Aunt Cass began to burst into tears. She knew Jessica the most. Fred moved to put an arm around her shoulder.

Although he was aware she wasn't coping with the news Hiro continued on.

"She was distracted on the phone talking to Astrid as she crossed the road. The driver wasn't looking…" Hiro tumbled over his own words

"I think you get the picture" he managed to say.

Silence enveloped the room once more.

Wasabi eventually broke the unbearable silence."We should go and see her."

Hiro finally looked up at the circle of faces that were all looking at him.

"Exactly what I was thinking" Hiro replied.

"That settles it" Honey Lemon declared "We are all going to be there for her. I can't stand the noise of that bloody clock anymore."

They all collectively nodded their heads stood up from the table and left the café in unison. Aunt Cass locked the café door behind her as they left for the hospital in Wasabi's new van. The café was again plunged into silence. The only sound being the clock ticking endlessly on the wall.

* * *

The relief Astrid felt was overwhelming. It felt like a giant tsunami had drowned her worries away.

"Your mothers injuries were only minor" the nurse had told her "The car was travelling slow enough not to cause any substantial damage. She will be able to go home after a few weeks of care."

Astrid's relief momentarily stopped.

"A few weeks! Its that bad?" she thought to herself. She was about to shout at the nurse but the simple fact that they would be together again made her realize that she didn't care how long it would take.

She was ok! She was going to be fine in the end!

"You can see her in a few moments" the nurse told her. After Giving her a smile and a pat on the back she re-entered the room where Jessica was being tended to.

Astrid slowly sank into the bench she was sitting on, taking heave breaths as the news was still sinking in. Life could go on as they both intended it to. No more fighting, no more arguing. With the stress of getting into SFIT finished forever they could now start over. She had family, friends to hang out with and a whole life of adventure. In a few days she would have her mum back and life would go on as normal.

The nurse re emerged from the door. Astrid leaped to her feet ready to see her mum but the look on her face said it all.

"Jessica can see you now" the nurse said with a look of despair.

Her instincts told her to look behind her. Sure enough, sat with her, was all her friends who stared at her with miserable looks on their faces as they stood up to enter the hospital room. She realised what was going on and her smile slipped clean off her face as all of her relief and happiness was instantly sucked out of her.

She dreamed the entire scenario. Because the truth was too terrible.

The nurse held the door open to let Astrid and her friends into the hospital room. At the end of the room in front of a large window overlooking a rather damp and miserable San Fransokio was Jessica Kelly. The room was silent except the beep beep of the life support machine beeping away just like the ticking of a clock.

Jessica slowly opened her eyes as she slowly saw her daughter looking out of the window, waiting for her to wake up.

"It was raining when we were on the phone" she said causing Astrid to look at her.

"It's the same rain" she replied as she slowly walked to her bedside trying to hold back the tears. Hiro and the rest of her friends stood at the back of the room with solemn looks on their faces. They did not want to intrude on their last chat together.

"Take my hand" she told her as she laid her weak hands is hers. Astrid knelt beside the bed to take in her mothers dying form.

"I am so proud of you" she could barely manage a whisper.

"I know" Astrid whispered back, tears beginning to trickle down her face.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to fly you in my plane like I promised. Please forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive. You have done so much for me."

Astrid started to loose her composure. She could feel her sadness swell up inside. It was like rocket fuel and it was ready to burst.

"What am I supposed to do now!" She blurted out "I don't have a family anymore!"

"Look over there." Jessica motioned her to look at the group of miserable faces standing in the far corner. "They're your family now. They all love you as much as I do" she whispered.

"I know" was all Astrid could manage to say.

She kept on imagining what it would feel like to be her mum right now. Imagine what it would feel like to know the exact date and time of your death. Imagine the gravity of that. The clock is ticking for everybody. Most people have that luxury of not knowing when it's going to go off. But her mum knew… and it hurts.

"Hiro fancies you doesn't he" Jessica whispered knocking Astrid out of her trail of thought.

"What?" Astrid asked surprised.

"It's obvious" she continued "He kept on helping you. Most people, like me, would give up but he didn't. He kept on helping you. He became the parent I never could and he did it for you."

Astrid had now well and truly lost it.

"Don't you dare say that about yourself!" Astrid cried. "You have done so much for me and this is who you think you are? Now be the best mum in the world and don't die!"

"You and I both know I am not capable of doing that." Jessica looked peaceful as she spoke. It was as if she was ready to die. She definitely was going "gentle into that good night." There was no "rage against the dying of the light." She just lay there holding Astrid's hand. She was contempt.

"Please tell Hiro to come here." She whispered as she did not have the strength to call him over.

Astrid looked at Hiro and beckoned him to come over. He obliged and knelt beside Astrid

"Thank you for helping my daughter" Jessica told him.

"I just wanted to help" He said.

Jessica started to drift into her endless sleep. She forced herself awake again. Astrid saw that she had mere minutes left and she held her mothers hand tighter.

"Please don't go" she said.

She knew she didn't have long now but she had one last thing to say.

"Listen, this is important." Her whispers were getting weaker now. Hiro and Astrid leaned in closer to hear.

"Hiro, I know you're upset. But the girl I hope you're with right now is more upset than anything. Please… Help her. Do that for her."

"I will I promise." Hiro said. At the same time he took Astrid's hand in his.

The beeping of the life support machine started to slow. Her clock was starting to stop.

"I love you Astrid." She only just managed to whisper to her.

"I love you to" Astrid replied, tears in her eyes.

"Now be a good girl… And… don't be afraid" she struggled to say as she finally closed her eyes.

Flatline.

Her clock had stopped forever.

Astrid burst into tears. "No… No you CANT!" She was in utter denial that her mum had just died in front of her.

"Please PLEASE wake up!" She screamed.

She felt Hiro's arms wrap around her waist

"I am so sorry" Hiro whispered to her. He wished he could do more to help but all he could do was keep hold of her as she wept over her mothers lifeless body.

"That was horrible" Fred muttered "that was the most horrible thing I've ever seen" he cried as GoGo laid a hand on his shoulder.

GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, Honey Lemon and Aunt Cass all linked arms and all they could do was watch Astrid cry.

* * *

The rain stopped and the clouds dispersed to reveal the moon shining brightly in the sky. Astrid decided that enough was enough. She removed Hiro's arms from around her waist as she stood up.

"Astrid?" Hiro asked

"Leave me alone" Astrid muttered as she stormed out of the room.

Everyone slowly followed. Aunt Cass carefully closed the door behind her as if Jessica was just asleep. The room was plunged into silence. Not a sound was heard. Not even the ticking of a clock.


	4. Chapter 4: Courtroom Drama

**Apologies for the wait! An unhealthy amount of homework caused me to forget to upload this chapter.**

 **To me this chapter makes perfect sense. If it is confusing for you folks here on Fanfiction, do let me know and I will modify it to make it easier to understand for you all!**

 **Anyways! Enjoy chapter 4! Reviews and likes are greatly appreciated! :D**

* * *

"Mr Adams. You've been charged with one count of murder and one count of driving under the influence of alcohol how do you plead?"

"Guilty" John Adams replied.

She remembered it well. A mass of people crowded into the courtroom to hear the long awaited conviction of one John Adams.

The man who killed her mum.

Astrid walked through the now desolate courtroom. She had an appointment she did not want to miss.

The flashbacks were as vivid as ever.

"The defendant has a mental disorder which we will take into account." The judge said.

"Mental disorder… I'll give him one" she spitefully muttered. That monster was going to get what he deserved. He'd better rot behind bars and never see the light of day.

Astrid walked towards the empty judges seat and turned around to fully take in the empty courtroom that seemed like it was staring back at her.

"Mr Adams. The jury and court of San Fransokio finds you guilty of the murder of Jessica Kelly."

Astrid felt contempt that this sicko was about to get what was coming to him!

"Taking into account that you have a mental disability and the fact that no witnesses came forward from the scene of the crime, we hereby sentence you to two years imprisonment at San Fransokio penitentiary."

Astrid remembered when all eyes turned on her. That monster just did the worst thing imaginable and he only gets two years?

"TWO YEARS?!" She cried. Her voice echoed in the room. Everybody gasped as a fifteen year old girl stood up from her seat.

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND HE GETS TWO YEARS?!"

The crowd gasped as she lunged from her seat towards the monster that killed her. Hiro and the gang yelled as they quickly went after her.

"YOU MONSTER!" She shouted. She was fast but Hiro was much faster. As she reached out to throttle the killer she was suddenly tackled to the ground. She screamed and struggled as the gang collectively hauled her to her feet and dragged her out of the courtroom.

The judge tried to get everybody's attention by repeatedly banging the gavel.

Here she was again. The judge was here somewhere and she had some bones to pick.

After going up the stairs she walked along the hallway. Massive portraits of the previous judges staring back at her dominated the walls. They looked like they knew what she was up to. At last she found the office. She slowly opened the door and noticed a desk with a large black chair facing away from her.

"Hello?" She called as she slowly closed the door behind her.

"I knew you'd come back" a voice spoke back.

Astrid could feel the anger fill up inside her. She began to walk up to the desk.

"You remember me then" she scowled.

"Why would I forget you?" The voice asked as a gloved hand pressed the button to lock the door.

* * *

Hiro placed the bottle of milk on the counter.

"Astrid?"

Hiro was confused as to why she didn't answer.

After the crazy courtroom incident yesterday he took it upon himself to look after Astrid.

He physically had to drag her all the way back to the café and get her to calm down by holding her down on his bed. Technically, this was the first time they slept together but Hiro wished it was under better circumstances like she wanted to sleep with him rather than stopping her from running away and doing something horrible.

Hiro just locked himself away for a while when Tadashi died. Astrid was more… Expressive. He did not want her to hurt herself.

Aunt Cass had asked him to fetch some milk from a nearby shop down the road from the café. Astrid looked like she had calmed herself down so he thought that leaving her alone for a few moments would not cause any incidents.

He went to open the door to his room.

"Astrid?"

He opened the door. Nobody home.

"Cass?" He shouted

"Yes sweetie?" she replied

"Have you seen Astrid?"

"No she is still in your room!"

"No she isn't!"

Aunt Cass worriedly hurried up the stairs.

"But… She never came down here! I was working down here and I didn't see her!"

They both looked around in confusion. Where the hell did she go?

"Uh… Hiro?"

Hiro turned to look at Aunt Cass.

"I think I should have locked the window."

Hiro looked out of the window and there it was, as clear as day. She'd snuck out using a makeshift rope made out of Hiro's T-Shirts.

"What have you done" Hiro gasped.

Aunt Cass started to worry.

"This is all my fault! If I had locked the window beforehand she would not have snuck out! Oh my god what could sh…"

Hiro placed both hands on her shoulders.

"None of this is your fault"

"Ok" she sighed.

"Where could she have gone?"

Hiro frantically looked around the room. He stopped when his attention was fixed to the red box in front of the clock on the wall.

"Idea" Hiro said as he turned to face the box.

"Ow" he told the box and the familiar sound of a balloon being inflated filled the room as Baymax emerged from the box. He stepped from the box and waddled towards Hiro. He lifted his hand and waved.

"Hello! I am Baymax! Your persona…"

"Sorry Baymax there is no time" Hiro butted in, "Where is Astrid now?"

Baymax blinked before answering the question.

"I scanned Astrid as she entered the room. Accessing location now."

Hiro and Aunt Cass stood there in suspense as a map of San Fransokio appeared on Baymax's chest. It slowly zoomed in onto where Astrid was heading.

"The courthouse! What on earth is she going there for?" Hiro asked

"If the judge is in there I bet she has a few bones to pick with him" Aunt Cass muttered.

Hiro rushed to grab his purple helmet and flight armour from the cupboard.

Baymax turned to his patient.

"Your blood pressure has elevated. You appear to be worried."

"I'm fine!" Hiro replied.

"What are you doing?" Aunt Cass asked.

"Going after her!"

"You'll never make it in time!" She protested.

"Yeah… On foot!" He answered.

"What do you mean.. On foot?" Aunt Cass inquired.

"Cass I'll explain later!" Hiro protested. "Baymax get to the garage! You need to be suited up!"

"Will going after Astrid Kelly improve your emotional state?" Baymax inquired of Hiro.

Hiro turned to look him in the eyes.

"Absolutely!" He said with determination as he put his helmet on.

* * *

"So you remember me then!" Astrid asked the judge.

"Yes" the voice replied.

"Then maybe you remember John Adams?" She said with a scowl.

The voice didn't reply.

"He was the driver who killed my mum"

BANG! She suddenly slapped her hands on the table so hard that the noise enveloped the room before it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"YOU GAVE HIM TWO YEARS!" Astrid shouted.

"Astrid" the voice said before being interrupted again.

"SHUT UP!" she cried "You get more for bloody parking tickets!"

"Astrid. I can see you're in a great deal of pain" the voice said.

"You think?" Astrid replied with anger in her voice.

"Believe me I know what it's like to lose a loved one. And I don't want you making the same mistake I did."

Astrid was confused as the chair turned around. Astrid looked in shock as she instantly recognised the occupant despite the fancy armour he was wearing.

"Surprise" Hiro said.


	5. Chapter 5: Revelations

**Well... I am still going! I thought I would give up after chapter one but it seems that people like my tale so I shall keep going until the end! This has become my new hobby now since I am enjoying writing this story so much!**

 **Anyway, enjoy chapter 5! I certainly had a big thrill in dreaming it up! Anything to get me away from the stress of college!**

* * *

The sun was blaring out onto the streets of San Fransokio. Everybody was enjoying the heat by playing on beaches, going for walks, going on holiday or sitting in their garden.

One man was not enjoying that gorgeous sunshine.

Locked away from society in his flat slap bang in the middle of San Fransokio, where the hustle and bustle of the city was at its peak, this man was instead intending to set things right.

"Let me see…"

The judge was muttering as he was filling paperwork for the Jessica Kelly murder.

"One car crash… On a major road… And nobody comes forward as a witness."

He repeated this over and over again. He upset Jessica's daughter… He was determined to find a witness so that her killer's sentence gets extended.

He was finding nothing.

He was getting frustrated.

"How is it possible that nobody saw somebody get run over on a major road! This doesn't make any sense!"

He kept thinking about the commotion that was caused by Astrid. She had to be dragged out of the building for gods sake!

It was his fault.

He was determined to deliver justice for her.

Because that's what a judge should do?

Or is it because the man behind that persona felt guilty?

Whatever the answer was, this was his top priority.

After hours of mulling over his evidence he threw them on the table in defeat.

"How the HELL are there no witnesses?" He cried.

Knock… Knock… Knock.

"Who is it?" He shouted at the door.

No answer.

"Bloody teens!" The judge muttered "After this I will bring their knock a door run empire to its knees!"

He sighed as he began to continue his work.

Knock… Knock… Knock.

The knocking was faster and sounded more impatient.

He leaped out of his chair and made his way to the door.

"I swear to god!" He ranted "If it is one of you crazy teens again I'll…"

He opened his door and saw a hooded figure standing at the door.

"What do you want!" He impatiently asked.

"Are you Judge Harrison?" The figure asked.

"Yes… Who are you?" The judge inquired..

"A witness."

* * *

Astrid ran for the door. She shook it violently as it refused to open.

He had locked her in.

"Door is locked. No point trying" Hiro said as if he was stating the obvious.

Without saying anything she eyed the window behind the desk.

She would have to get past him.

Hiro knew what she was up to though.

"It's a courthouse Astrid. The windows are shatterproof" he said as he stood up from the chair.

Astrid sighed in defeat.

"Then how did you get in?" she asked mockingly.

"We got here first."

"Who's we?"

A towering figure clad in red armour emerged from the darkness behind Hiro.

"Baymax?" She asked puzzled.

"He scanned you as you entered my bedroom. He now knows exactly where you are and where you are going by measuring your bodily functions."

Astrid was slightly horrified by this revelation.

"Not like that" Hiro quickly confirmed.

Astrid quickly shook that dark thought out of her head.

"Still does not explain how you got here before me."

"Isn't it obvious?" He said as he outstretched his arms, beckoning her to look at what he was wearing.

"You're wearing… Armour?"

"We flew here! It's flight armour!" Hiro corrected her.

"How?" Astrid inquired.

"I told you. I'm a genius!" Hiro replied.

Astrid chuckled at his comment then suddenly stopped.

"That's the first time I've laughed since…"

She stopped in deep thought. She really was that depressed!

"It is alright to cry." Baymax interrupted.

Hiro started to walk towards her but she beckoned him to stop.

"I'm not crying!"

"Crying is a natural response to pain." Baymax continued.

"I told you I'm fine!" She said, trying to hide the tears.

Hiro just stood where he was. The anger he heard in her voice had suddenly gone. Whatever he was doing to calm her down… It was working. He decided to keep playing along.

After what seemed an eternity of silence Astrid surprisingly changed the subject.

"Nice outfit" Astrid said with a smirk.

"Thank you very much!" Hiro replied.

"Suits you!"

"I thought it was a bit boisterous when I first made it. But the gang seems to like it!"

"Do they have suits too?" Astrid asked.

What a stupid question. Of course they don't!

"Yes they do!" Hiro replied.

Astrid pondered for a moment.

"What are you then some… crime fighting super team?" Astrid said sarcastically.

Hiro didn't know if he should tell her… He wanted it to be a secret. He decided she deserved to know. He couldn't keep secrets from her after what she had been through.

Uh…Yes! We… uh… formed a super hero team!" Hiro said to Astrid's shocked face. Hiro could see the cogs turning inside her head.

"You mean… on the TV… ages ago… with that building…"

"That was us stopping Professor Callaghan from destroying it" Hiro confirmed.

Astrid could not believe her eyes. The Krei Labs incident was all over the news. She wondered for ages who the heroes were… They were in front of her this whole time!

"Crazy isn't it!" Hiro blushed.

"This is insane!" she cried "All this time you kept this a secret from me?"

"I didn't know how you would react" Hiro replied.

Silence filled the room again. Hiro noticed how relaxed Astrid was now. His plan to calm her down was working. She came here intent on unleashing her fury on the court judge yet here they were having a normal conversation as if nothing happened.

Astrid needed to know something.

"Do you have… like… a cool name for your team?"

Hiro smirked. "We are the Big Hero 6!" he declared.

Astrid snorted by accident trying to hold back the laughter.

"The name needs some work!" She giggled.

"You'll never guess what we were originally called!" Hiro teased.

"What?!" Astrid said, preparing to laugh.

Hiro giggled. As soon as he calmed down he revealed their original name.

"Fred's…Angels!" He laughed.

Astrid's face went red and she burst into laughter. They both laughed for ages. Baymax just stood there watching them both tear up in laughter. He was happy too, because they were.

"Your neurotransmitter levels are rising dramatically. This indicates you are both happy" Baymax declared.

Both of them breathed heavily in an attempt to calm down.

"Just letting it out Baymax. Just letting it all out!" Hiro managed to reply.

Astrid didn't want to change the subject but this had been bugging her mind since Hiro revealed himself in the chair.

"Why did you come for me?" She asked.

"Suffering a loss requires support from friends and loved ones" Baymax answered.

"I wasn't asking you" she muttered.

Hiro stopped laughing when he saw the seriousness in her face.

"Why do you ask?" Hiro asked as he slowly walked towards her.

"Just answer the question" Astrid snapped back. "Please."

"Because you ran away. Nice thing with my T-Shirts by the way!"

Hiro meant this as a joke but he stopped smiling when he saw that he only made things worse.

"What's wrong?" Hiro asked.

"I lied to you." Astrid answered.

Hiro raised an eyebrow.

"I could never do that. But I was so… angry. I lied to you and ran away after promising to let you look after me. I let you down!"

"I know" Hiro replied.

"Then why are you helping me?" She inquired.

"Astrid" Hiro said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. Although they were heavily gloved, she still felt the care and protection they normally gave her.

"Do you really honestly think I care for you so little that running away would ever make the slightest difference?"

His answer touched her so much that she started to tear up. Unable to hold back the tears she suddenly wrapped her arms around Hiro. He did the same and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Sorry to say this" Hiro whispered into her ear "but I am never letting you go."

Astrid closed her eyes and let him keep hold of her.

"Then don't" she replied.

* * *

The judge had let the figure in. After inquiring many times about who the figure was, it told him its name was Edgely. He was also suspicious as to why the figure would not take its hood off. He assumed Edgely wanted to be an anonymous witness. He dealt with many of those before.

He sat Edgely down and went straight to business. The judge took notes as Edgely talked about Astrid and her friends. Edgely also recounted exactly what happened at the scene of the crash. When they finished, he decided to treat Edgely to his favourite drink as a thank you.

"Beautiful day isn't it!" The judge asked Edgely as he poured some tea.

"Doesn't explain why we are having tea… In the middle of a heatwave!" Edgely answered.

"Ah… Tea is such a perfect drink to wake up to! It keeps me going through these stressful times!"

"Couldn't agree more!" Edgely replied, taking a sip of piping hot tea.

"Thank you so much for taking your time to come forward Edgely. You have saved me a lot of digging around and you have brought me one step closer to getting that criminal a bigger sentence." The judge commended.

"I just wanted to help." Edgely replied.

"I could not help but notice your emphasis on Astrid Kelly… Are you related to her by any chance Edgely?"

Edgely put deep thought into an answer.

"Yes… In a manner of speaking."

"I see!" He replied.

"It's not really Edgely..." The figure replied "I got that from a book. It's safer not to use real names."

The judge was curious.

"They think I'm dead… Easiest way to get them off my case."

Judge Harrison dared to ask. "Go on then. Why don't you remove your hood and tell me your real name?"

The figure beckoned him to come closer. Harrison slowly leaned towards the hooded figure as it prepared to whisper into his it spilled its identity to Harrison he was shocked but suspicious. When the figure removed its hood however, his suspicions were confirmed and his jaw dropped.

"Oh my god!" the shocked judge gasped.

"Don't tell a soul" the figure sternly told him.

Harrison nodded quickly.

"Not a word."


	6. Chapter 6: Dreams Come True

**Apologies for the long wait for this chapter. Had to write up my final idea on the short film I am doing in my Media course.**

 **Enough about my boring life! Enjoy chapter 6! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as they help build my confidence in writing this stuff! :D**

* * *

That hug felt like an eternity.

She had never felt anything like it.

She felt at peace when she felt Hiro's hands gently wrap around her waist daring not to let her go. All her worries just disappeared for as long as he held on to her. Nothing to think about, no thought traffic, just silence. This was life at its purest.

Hiro just held on. The last thing he wanted to do was let her go. He proved to himself that she meant the world to him. Now, he wanted to prove it to her.

"Hey" Hiro whispered softly into Astrid's ear.

"What?" she replied.

"I want to show you something. I think it will make you happy."

Hiro let her go from his embrace. Astrid felt the feelings of warmth and comfort suddenly disappear. Hiro sensed this and he quickly put his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm never leaving you. Promise."

Astrid smiled slightly at him. She felt a slight push from his arm beckoning her to walk with him.

"Come on. There's something I want you to see."

Astrid obliged as she walked with him out of the office.

Back through the corridors they went. The portraits of judges dominating the walls again. That familiar look on their faces as if they knew what they were up to.

Astrid slowed down as they made their way to the courtroom. She really hated this place. Hiro could feel her hesitation and slowed down to match her pace.

"You'll be ok" He reassured her.

"I know… just… too many memories" she replied

"I know exactly how you feel."

Astrid took a deep breath and let Hiro lead her out of the courtroom. This time there was no fuss, no shouting and no commotion. This time she was not dragged. Instead she willingly let her best friend walk her out of the courtroom. She hoped it would be the last time she would ever see this place.

The three of them walked out of the building. Astrid squinted her eyes as if she never saw the light of day for years. They made their way towards the vast expanse of nature across the road. Astrid always loved this space. When she was young, she came for the little park that was situated slap bang in the middle surrounded by an endless sea of trees. Nowadays, she came to shut herself off from the rest of the world. She valued her isolation so much she almost didn't care about anyone else in the world. Almost…

"Your mother was a pilot yes?" Hiro asked knocking Astrid out of her trail of thought. She had forgotten he still had his arm around her shoulders.

"San Fransokio Air Force. One of the best in her squad" she replied.

"She told you that she was sorry for not giving you the chance to fly"

"Yeah… I really wanted to see the city from above… I guess I never can now…"

Hiro gave her his signature goofy smile she loved so much.

"I plan to amend that statement."

"How?"

Hiro's smile grew even wider.

"Are you forgetting how I got to you in the first place?"

"You…"

Realisation suddenly dawned on her

"Flew"

Now she was getting it! Hiro proceeded to let go of Astrid's shoulder. The shock on her face said it all. He walked over to Baymax, stood in front of him and then stared at Astrid.

"Baymax… Wings!"

Astrid could not believe what she just saw. A pair of rather large wings sprung from the back of Baymax. He stood there almost iconically as an angel looming over them both. Hiro stared at Astrid's shocked face. He felt incredibly satisfied. Astrid could not speak.

"Astrid I would like you to take a ride on Baymax here. He beats the bus any day!"

Astrid suddenly felt afraid. She wanted to do this with her mother. Could she cope seeing the view she always wanted to see without her mother by her side?

"Uh…"

She couldn't. She had to book it.

"Um… No thank you. I'm happy to watch" She tried to convince him.

Hiro wasn't having it.

"Surely there can be no greater feeling than having your childhood dreams come true?"

Astrid's mind was racing now. It was shouting at her, making her think of a comeback. She REALLY wanted to fly. But she would just keep thinking of her mother and how she should be up there with her.

"You idiot! You should have seen that one coming! Quick! Make something up! Uh…"

Astrid finally came up with an answer.

"Maybe for you Hiro Hamada but certainly not for me!"

She really hoped that answer would stop him in his tracks. Her brain was sure it would.

"Yes! He is stuck now! He can't possibl… No… wait he is walking towards you… For god's sake you've done it now!"

Hiro kept walking until he was only literally inches away. He pulled a stern look at Astrid. He was going to make her fly… even if he had to drag her on.

"Get on, Astrid!"

She hesitated, the last option was to run away again. But she knew Hiro was faster than her. She knew about his status as an ex botfighter. Every time he had won a match, he had to run away before the defeated got their hands on him. He was practically a built sprinter.

She could not win.

Astrid hesitantly made her way towards Baymax who knelt down so she could climb on. Hiro helped her up and proceeded to climb up after her. He put his feet and one hand onto the magnetic pads. His other hand held onto Astrid.

"What if I fall off?" She asked him.

"Never going to happen"

As he said those words Baymax suddenly launched into the air like a rocket. The bystanders watching from the ground below were shocked at the sudden whoosh and the mist that replaced the three of them.

Standing with them was a figure wearing a hood.

Astrid held on screaming as the ground was suddenly replaced by an endless sea of white mist which moved to form mountains. Astrid could not believe it. She was actually flying!

Baymax suddenly started to slow down. Astrid felt sick in her stomach as Baymax stopped his accent and began to fall.

"Baymax NOOO!" Astrid screamed as she suddenly felt weightless. Before she knew it the sea of clouds disappeared to reveal the ground fast approaching. The skyscrapers of San Fransokio looked like they were being hurled at them.

As soon as Astrid was certain that they were going to crash, Baymax launched forward at breakneck speed. The world was nothing but a blur as the city raced past them. Over buildings and through tunnels they went all in quick succession and with pinpoint accuracy. It was like being on a rollercoaster except it was higher and faster than any white knuckle thrill ride.

"Baymax? Take us to the turbine" Hiro ordered.

Baymax suddenly changed direction towards a wind turbine floating in the clouds. He slowed down until his feet were planted onto the metal structure. He knelt to let Hiro climb down and help Astrid.

Astrid's eyes were greeted with the most jaw dropping sight of San Fransokio Bridge seemingly floating above the clouds.

Astrid was in awe.

"Oh my god it's… Well look at it it's…"

She started breathing heavily. Hiro was slightly concerned.

"Are you ok? Do you want to go back down?" He asked.

"No… I could fall off this thing any minute but all the same…"

She really could not describe it. Instead she settled with "It's beautiful!"

Hiro moved by her side and held her hand in his.

"I know right!" He said excitedly.

"Think about how many people dream of flying… And here we are!"

Astrid could not shake the fact from her head that this fifteen year old, standing next to her, holding her hand, had just given her the childhood dream she always wanted.

"I'm really glad I met you!" she confessed.

"So am I!" Hiro replied. He sat down on the metal surface. Pulling Astrid down with him and holding her in his arms. Both of them just sat there watching the behemoth sized sun give off a dazzling orange colour as it began to set.

"Where do you think my mum is now?" Astrid asked.

Hiro thought long and hard for an answer.

"With my brother, up there, watching over us" he replied.

A moment felt like eternity sat up there staring down at the world slowly plunging into night time.

"I'm so lonely without her"

Astrid sniffed as a tear trickled down her cheek. She desperately tried to hold it together but she sensed that Hiro already knew.

"I'm going to make you a promise. The same one my mother gave to me" Hiro said tenderly. Astrid's gaze finally met his. She knew by his face alone that he really did care.

"No matter how lonely you think you are. Even if you are a thousand miles away. You will never really be alone. I'm here."

Astrid lay her head on his shoulder. She felt herself begin to slip slowly into a deep sleep.

"I will always be here and I will always come and find you. Every single time"

Hiro looked over at Astrid. She was now sleeping peacefully. He gently placed her head onto his lap, removed his gloves and buried his hand into her hair, stroking it gently. He looked at the brilliant orange sunset and thought to himself;

"I hope they think that we make a really good pair."


	7. Chapter 7: Please Pick Up

**Sorry it has been an age since my last chapter. School has been hell and I have got like... 7 assignments to do. This chapter is extra long so I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Since I have started to gain a few reviews I am going to start doing what everybody else is doing. Replying to them! :D**

 **Hollyoaks-TomxPeri-forever:** I am really glad you are enjoying my story and I love the ending to Chapter 4 too! :)

 **Daydream wonders:** I'm glad you like it! I tried to think up of a good girls name for my character and I stuck with Astrid completely forgetting she is in HTTYD! This Astrid has nothing to do with the movie though... Promise!

 **musicalinara:** I am really enjoying your story and I am so amazed you like mine! I promise I am not copying yours LOL! XD

* * *

Astrid felt really uncomfortable as she slept.

The blankets felt too heavy… And that smell… Smells like somebody just died.

Astrid woke up. It took her a while for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings but when they did she realised she was not at home.

She was in a hospital room.

Then the sudden beep…beep…beep of a heart rate monitor could be heard amongst the very unsettling silence.

She looked to her right to the bed closest to the window and she saw that it was occupied. She could not see who was in the bed but it looked like somebody was inside the blankets.

Astrid proceeded to sit up from the bed. As she did so, she felt a force on her hands. She gave them a light tug but the force kept them from moving.

Astrid lifted the bedsheets and was shocked to see that her hands were tied, by rope, to each side of the gurney.

Panic started to flow through her body as she began to thrash her hands wildly to break free. Resistance was proving to be futile.

She stopped in defeat.

Breathing heavily in panic, she looked around the room frantically.

"Help!"

She was suddenly silenced by the heart rate monitor gradually beeping slower.

"Do you know what that sound is?" A very old and faint voice asked her.

Astrid slowly moved her head to look at the occupied bed.

The beeping was getting even slower.

"That is the sound of your mother dying."

Astrid suddenly felt very afraid of the being in the bed.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked in a scared tone.

"You have been a very naughty girl and I am very, very cross!" The scary voice declared, ignoring her question.

Flatline.

Whoever it was in the bed… It was dead now.

Astrid focused her attention on the ropes. Wriggling her wrists in a bid to loosen the knots. Her right hand was going nowhere but her left managed to loosen the knot a tiny bit.

She stopped when she heard the sound of squeaky bedsprings drowning out the noise of the continuous beep of the monitor.

She looked around towards the bed near the window. There was somebody sitting up on the bed. This was impossible… It's dead!

"Who are you! Scaring me like this!" Astrid demanded.

"The one you abandoned Astrid."

It knew her name.

Oh my god!

The bed sheet thing slowly stood up from the bed, blocking the window and drowning it's pale light.

"The one you left for dead."

The bed sheet slowly moved as if the person underneath it was pulling it off its body.

"Look at what you have done to me."

The bed sheet flung off its body to reveal the person underneath.

Astrid screamed.

* * *

"Come on pick up!"

Hiro waited anxiously as the phone tried to connect to Astrid.

"Hello! You've reached my phone but I can't answer at the moment because I am a very busy girl! Please leave me a message and I will try my best to get back to you! Bye!"

Hiro was sick and tired of her answerphone message.

"Astrid pick up the damn phone! I have not heard from you for a few days now and I am getting really worried about you!"

He sighed.

"Just… Please… Pick up the phone and talk to me! I will not stop calling until you do! Hope to hear from you soon! Just pick up the phone ok? Ok… Bye."

Hiro sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. He was clutching his phone tightly, daring not to let go.

"Maybe she just wants to be alone for a while?" Aunt Cass said tenderly. She kept trying to come up with a sensible reason for Astrid to not talk to her best friend.

"Who locks themselves in a room for days? It does not solve anything!" Hiro replied.

"You did" Cass confirmed.

Hiro looked at her and sighed. "Yeah… I did."

"When she is ready she will call for you! Just let her go for a while! She will no doubt call you soon! You have spent so much time with her. She won't abandon you!"

"Yeah… Your right. But I'm worried."

"So am I" Cass replied. "Come downstairs! There's super hot chicken wings that will literally burn your worries away!"

"How would I live without you Cass" Hiro asked.

"Sure you could! But I doubt you could without your chicken wings!"

"Amen to that!" He put his phone on the bedside table. "I'm coming I just need the toilet."

"I'll be downstairs!" Cass chirped.

Hiro sat up from his bed and turned his light off. He made his way towards the door. Before he closed the door he looked back at his phone.

"Pick up… Please" he whispered to the phone. He closed the door plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

"But you're dead!" Astrid screamed.

"Yes I am… Because of you" Jessica replied. Her body looked decayed and rotten. She was literally a walking corpse.

"I was begging for that car to strike me down… All you ever cared about was going to that stupid school! You drove me insane with your fits and tantrums. I lost the will to live and it was all your fault!"

"I could not help it!" Astrid cried out, furiously trying to pry her hands from the ropes tying her to the bed. Her mother was getting closer.

"Of course you could! But you didn't because you didn't care about me!" Jessica roared at her. "Now you will join me… We will be together again for all eternity!"

Her rotting hand with razor sharp fingernails extended and pointed towards her… Her stiff joints cracked as she did so.

"One touch is all it takes… And you can join me and your father!"

Her bony fingers loomed over Astrid's head. Her hand was almost free. She felt the knot become undone. She grabbed the rails on the other side of the gurney.

"You are not my mother! Stay away!" She cried as she furiously yanked the side of the gurney causing it to suddenly tip over A loud crash echoed in the room as she made impact on the floor. Her free hand untied the knot keeping her other hand tied to the rails. She crawled as fast as she could to the door.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME!" A deafening screech roared at her. Jessica thrust her hands out and a force caused the gurney to fly at breakneck speed crashing into the door and blocking her escape.

"I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT ME ASTRID KELLY! I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU!"

Astrid pushed the gurney out of the way and clawed at the door handle. Thankfully it was not locked and she forced it open and booked it out of the room. She could hear that thing that clearly was not her mum screaming behind her.

"DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME IN HERE TO ROT! YOU'VE DONE IT ONCE AND YOU'RE NEVER DOING IT AGAIN!"

A loud band made Astrid jump out of her skin. She turned around and saw that the door had slammed shut. Locking that… Thing in the room.

For some reason it had stopped screaming. Astrid heard nothing but her own panting.

After a brief moment to catch her breath. She began to make her way down the corridor. She was desperate to leave this place.

"Astrid" a dying voice moaned. It echoed down the corridor.

She walked towards the source of the sound.

"Please don't leave me!" The voice continued to moan.

She turned around the corner and she saw, cowering against the wall… Hands against her head… Jessica Kelly again. This time she looked like her mum… But she looked like she had not seen the light of day for ages.

"M..mu…mum?" Astrid whimpered.

"Why did you leave me here?" Jessica whimpered. Her voice sounded broken.

Astrid did not know what to say.

"You left me here all alone…why?"

"I'm sorry" was all Astrid could say.

Jessica suddenly lashed out at her. She grabbed Astrid's foot and yanked her to the floor. Astrid yelped as she hit the cold tiled floor. Somehow she managed to shake her mum's frail hand off her foot and, in an effort to get away, scooted backwards away from her. Jessica began crawling after her.

"How could you leave me here!"

"Mum stop… I'll get you out of here!"

A lift opened its doors behind her.

"It's too late! I'm already dying!"

Astrid unknowingly crawled into the lift. As soon as she crawled inside the doors started to close. She saw her mum make a final leap towards the lift in an effort to climb inside.

"PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME!" She cried.

She was too late.

The doors closed and Astrid could hear her mum pummelling at the door. She frantically pressed the ground floor button and jumped when the lift suddenly began to move down.

Astrid sat in the corner and tried to catch her breath

She was going to get out of this stupid hospital once and for all!

Suddenly the blinding white lights of the lift went out, plunging the lift into darkness. The only light in the lift was the faint blue light of the digital floor numbers counting down the floors as the lift slowly kept on moving downward.

5

4

It felt like an eternity waiting for the numbers to change…

3

2

Astrid hoped that her escape plan would now be as simple as finding the exit and getting out of here.

1

She knew deep down inside her that it would not be the case.

G

The lift suddenly stopped and the doors began to slowly open.

* * *

Hiro lay on his bed.

He felt like he had eaten a banquet. He felt so stuffed that he kept on checking his belly to see if he had grown fatter.

He hadn't.

Those chicken wings were simply amazing! Aunt Cass knows how to cook! Well… She should because she owns a café.

"Goodnight Hiro! Remember, don't worry about Astrid ok? She'll pick up soon enough!" Aunt Cass called to him.

"I'll try not to Cass! Goodnight!" Hiro called back.

He had forgot entirely about his phone. He fumbled in the darkness to find it. He turned it on only for the brightness of the screen to temporarily blind him.

He looked in his messages.

Nothing new.

He looked in his calls list.

No new calls.

Hiro sighed as his tired eyes began to close.

He drifted off into a peaceful sleep still clutching his phone.

* * *

Astrid slowly crept out of the lift to find herself walking through a hallway illuminated by emergency red lighting.

She looked for the exit sign on the massive list of directions. There it was. Go down to the end of the corridor and turn left.

She began to make her way down the dark corridor. As she made her way to around about the middle of it. Piercing white light suddenly flooded the corridor to reveal the horror of what was written on the walls.

KILL ASTRID. HATE ASTRID. ASTRID MUST DIE. KILL HER. SLICE HER UP. GO TO HELL ASTRID. SHE WAS A MISTAKE. SPAWN OF SATAN.

The aggressive writing was written all in red. Astrid did not want to know why it had to be red.

She turned left around the corner and followed the writing into the pitch black reception area. She fumbled around for a light switch. She managed to find one and switch the lights on.

Astrid screamed in horror to find the decomposing body of her mother. Hanging above the reception floor. With a noose tied around her neck.

"NOOO" Astrid wailed as she fell to her knees and cried. She could not stand this place any longer. She closed her eyes and sobbed.

"Mummy I am so sorry!" She cried.

Astrid opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom.

It had all been a dream.

She lied there in her bed, recovering from what she just dreamt about.

This was what she was doing to herself.

Her days were spent lying there in spiritual emptiness, eating and drinking nothing. She was slowly killing herself.

Her nights were spent dreaming of her mother. Most had been about what would have happened today if her mum was still here.

Her new nightmare had shown a side of mum she never wanted to see again.

She heard her phone ring. She felt too physically drained to answer the phone. She hadn't answered the phone for days.

"Hello! You've reached my phone but I can't answer at the moment because I am a very busy girl! Please leave me a message and I will try my best to get back to you! Bye!" The answer machine read.

Astrid awaited her message.

"Astrid pick up the damn phone! I have not heard from you for a few days now and I am getting really worried about you!"

She knew immediately who he was. He sent her at least five messages today begging her to pick up the phone.

She heard him sigh.

"Just… Please… Pick up the phone and talk to me! I will not stop calling until you do! Hope to hear from you soon! Just pick up the phone ok? Ok… Bye."

Astrid curled up on her bed and cried.

Her life was a mess.


	8. Chapter 8: Consequences

**This is my first attempt at writing to make two events happen at exactly the same time. For my first go at it I think it isn't half bad! Tell me what you think!**

 **My writing skills are being put to the test in more ways than one at college! I have presentations to do, a script to write and an article to create! So it's good exercise for my brain!**

 **Im so thrilled that everybody enjoyed the dark and scary nature of my last chapter and I hope you enjoy the fast paced action in this one! :D**

* * *

Even though the destruction of Krei Tech's new campus was a gigantic loss for the company. They were still going strong. With a new campus dedicated to Tadashi in its place which was supported by the San Fransokio Institute of Technology, the company was booming as students from all over the world applied every year to get a prestigious place in the campus of the worlds leading robotics company. Krei had learnt the error of his ways and decreed that studying there was to be paid for by the company itself so that anybody, no matter how poor they were, could study there. The results were instantaneous. They came, they built, he commissioned, they all conquered. Everybody approved of his philanthropic gesture and his image changed to become one of the icons of technology and robotics.

Now something was up which had the possibility to become something pretty big.

And pretty dangerous.

Yesterday he was greeting potential students and showing them around the campus.

Now he was dealing with a crisis that could potentially bring it to its knees.

"There is a problem with our systems at Krei Tech… I need to get there now."

Alistair Krei strode at a fast pace, forwards and backwards on the sidewalk. The passers by looked at him wondering why he was acting like a malfunctioning robot.

"I'll get the car for you" his secretary said. She always walked with him whenever he was out of campus. She mostly went with him to the student showcase so that they could find the next big invention to mass market.

Krei fumbled in his pocket for his phone. He looked in his contacts until he found the name he was looking for.

Hiro Hamada.

After an age waiting for him to pick up he finally heard his voice.

"Krei! What a surprise! You don't normally phone me like this so I am guessing this is important?"

"I fear we may be under attack" Krei bluntly said.

"Again? What's happening?"

"Our systems are randomly shutting down. I have somebody with me who is an expert with computers but so far all attempts to stop whatever or whoever is causing it have failed."

"You called the police?"

"Yes. They don't know. I even phoned up the security services… they don't even know!"

"I'll get the team to come right over. I'll be there a bit later… There is something I have to take care of but don't worry… I'll be there!" Hiro assured him.

"I'll hear from you soon." Krei said as he stopped the call.

A black Jaguar abruptly pulled up onto the side of the curb to let Krei and his secretary, carrying a really heavy laptop, into the car. As soon as they slammed the door shut, the car sped up to take them to their destination.

* * *

GoGo had finally finished her bike. She was absolutely astounded by the results. She had finally created the fastest bicycle in the world! Her garage walls were littered with a seemingly endless amount of yellow wheels and bike chassis. Her finished product was hung in the middle like a trophy.

She stared at it in awe for a while until she felt a vibration in her pocket. She took her phone out to see who was calling. She realised Hiro was calling because her phone had the picture of Hiro staring back at her with his goofy toothy grin.

She immediately answered the call.

"Hiro! You'll never guess what!"

"What?"

"My bike is finally finished!"

"I need to ride it sometime! You busy at the moment?"

"Nope… Just tweaking my electro mag suspension. A bit of extra speed won't do any harm!"

Hiro giggled at her comment.

"Good… I need you to get the team together."

"What's happening?"

"Something's up at Krei Tech"

"How serious?"

"Could be a hacker."

"Ok… I'll come over and…"

"No need, I need to take care of something personal first… Baymax is in his armour and is currently flying to your location now." Hiro interrupted

"It's Astrid isn't it…"

"She has not answered her phone for 4 days now… I'm not having it anymore! So whilst I'm gone I'm leaving you in charge."

"If you say so… I'm going to call everybody else and put my armour on."

"I got to go… Keep me in the loop ok?"

Ok… Hey Hiro?"

"Yes?"

"I hope she's ok."

"I hope so too."

Hiro put the phone down.

After putting his signature blue jacket on, he began to collect his belongings before a familiar voice called him from downstairs.

"Who was that sweetie?" Aunt Cass asked.

Hiro thought long and hard for an answer.

"It was Astrid!" He lied.

"See! I told you she would pick up eventually!" Aunt Cass squealed with delight.

"Yeah… I guess"

"Well… Tell me what she said!"

"Uh…" He could physically feel the cogs turning inside his head.

"She wants me to come over for a while… She says she wants somebody to talk to!"

"I assume that's why it sounds like an elephant is living upstairs!"

"Sorry… I was just getting my things."

"Well… Make sure you are home before tea ok?"

"I will Aunt Cass!"

He rushed downstairs towards the door and as he opened it…

"Hiro?"

"Yes?"

"Love you!"

"Love you too Aunt Cass."

He closed the café door behind him and started walking down the street.

Krei looked nervous sitting in the backseat as his driver drove him to the campus. His only assurance was that the Big Hero 6 were on their way as well… If they saved his company once before, they could surely do it again right?

The problem was about to escalate.

"Sir? The hacking has started again! I'll try to shut it down!" His secretary declared.

"No, track it. I need to know where it is coming from!"

She put her glasses on and began typing furiously away at her laptop. A map suddenly appeared on the screen.

Hiro looked behind him to make sure he was out of view from the Lucky Cat Café. As soon as he was absolutely sure that Cass could not see him, he began to run towards Astrid's flat.

"It's coming from San Fransokio…" She said as she began to get closer to the source of the hacking.

"Somewhere at the south…"

It zoomed in closer. She instantly recognised the location and gulped.

"It's… coming from the campus!"

Krei shouted at the driver.

"Can you hurry it up please!"

The car suddenly sped up as it began to weave its way through hundreds of cars on the busy roads of the city.

Hiro ran even faster towards Astrid's flat. He was worried that something horrible happened to her. The streets were so busy that he constantly had to weave and push past people who looked back at him in surprise.

"Getting closer." The secretary said.

She typed faster than ever. It was a wonder the keyboard didn't break!

"The signal is coming from somewhere in the staff offices"

The car managed to break free from the traffic and began to speed along the bridge with the new campus looming behind it.

The flat was in sight. Hiro now ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Found it!"

Her eyes widened at the result.

"It's… Coming from your computer sir!"

"Shut it down!"

She began typing again but before she could deal any damage, the computer screen suddenly turned black. She cursed.

Then the screen showed Krei's face with a ton of money behind it laughing maniacally in a high pitched voice as a rather annoying tune played in the background.

"The hell is this!" Krei asked in shock.

They both suddenly flinched as a skull flashed before their eyes. Krei's face was then suddenly set on fire and a message was shown on the screen.

"You thought Callaghan was mad at you… Wait until you see what I can do!"

Before they could begin to speculate the meaning of the message, the car suddenly skidded to a halt.

Hiro ran towards the front door of Astrid's flat. He didn't care that he was out of breath, he was determined to see Astrid again. Four days without seeing her face or listening to her voice felt like an eternity.

Police cars were blocking the end of the bridge.

Krei furiously unbuckled his seatbelt and began to exit the car.

"Oh for the love of…" He muttered to himself.

A cop began to walk towards a furious Krei.

"For gods sake!" Krai shouted as he slammed the car door shut. "Don't you recognise the car?" He asked the cop.

"Sir I can expl…"

Hiro knocked on Astrid's door.

A sudden deafening explosion caused them to jump in shock. Krei turned towards the Krei Tech campus which now had a gigantic hole where his office once was. The side facing towards them was engulfed in smoke and flame.

Krei stood, glued to the spot staring at the building that was now on fire. His mouth was agape. This had felt like a bullet through his body.

Who would hate him so much, that he would attack a campus full of young, innocent and inventive minds?

His mind suddenly dawned on one frightening question.

How many died?

* * *

Astrid lay there in peaceful silence until she heard a sudden and furious knocking at the front door. She would have not bothered to even think about answering the door if whoever it was knocking wasn't so damn persistent!

"Astrid it's me! Open up!"

She knew his voice. Oh god it's Hiro… She would not allow him to see her like this. The most effective way to do this was stay silent as if nobody was home but her mind was not thinking straight.

"There's nobody home!" She shouted at the door. She cursed herself as she instantly knew that that was the stupidest thing she had ever said.

"We both know that's not true!" Hiro replied.

"Please just go away! I'm not opening the door!"

Hiro would not take no for an answer.

"Well… I know that's not going to happen because I am not budging from this spot until you open this door."

Astrid sighed. "Here we go… Mr Wordsworth trying to convince me otherwise…" She muttered to herself.

"And if you don't open this door… Then I could starve out here you know! You wouldn't do that to me would you Astrid?"

If she could do it to herself then surely she could do it to someone else!

But Hiro was different.

"What kind of thicko would stand there for hours because somebody won't open the door?" She shouted still lying on her bed.

"The kind of thicko who deeply cares about the person keeping them out!"

Astrid sighed again.

"Now… I could have Baymax kick the door in but that's being a bit unfair don't you think? That and the fact that he is occupied at the moment!"

Astrid struggled to get off the bed. She had starved herself so much that even walking was difficult for her. She held onto the walls as she slowly walked out of her bedroom. She stood still in the hallway, leaning onto the wall and stared at the front door sensing defeat.

"Astrid… I can't leave you alone. I'm not letting four days without hearing from you slide. You've been through so much, I get that! But pushing away everybody you know only makes things worse! Trust me… I know!"

Defeated, Astrid slowly walked towards the door using the walls as support. She leant onto the door and put her eye through the glass peephole to see her best friend's face.

Hiro could see the peephole go darker so he stared up at it trying to meet Astrid's gaze.

"Hi Astrid." He smiled at her through the peephole.

Astrid grinned slightly. His smile was always a welcome sight.

I… I can't let you in… You can't see me like this!"

"Astrid Kelly… Why would you look any different to me?"

Defeated, she began to unlock the door.

"Fine… You win like you always do…"

The door slowly opened.

"What can I say I'm a geniu…"

Hiro's smile dropped when he saw a visibly shattered and starved Astrid barely standing before him.

"Oh my god… What have you done to yourself?"


	9. Chapter 9: Headline

**Oh my gosh! It's been AGES since my last chapter! Time flies when you're having fun! Turning 18 tomorrow! Can't believe it! Enough about me... On with the story!**

* * *

Judge Harrison finally woke up.

A blinding white light pierced his vision as his mind slowly drifted back to reality. A headache pounded relentlessly like an enraged beast trying to break free from its cage. He put his hand on his forehead to feel how hot his head was.

It burnt.

Then, as his senses continued to yawn and effortlessly wake up, a sudden, metallic taste flooded his mouth as he felt something trickle down his lips like a little stream lost in an endless forest. He thought he was dribbling or something silly like that so he moved his hand to wipe his mouth clean.

His hand had suddenly turned red.

The "dribble" was in fact: Blood.

His senses then whirred into life and he felt his brain ticking away subtly behind his harsh headache. Realisation dawned on him. That guy… had tried to kill him. He felt a sensation similar to a tummy ache as his gaze finally met his surroundings.

His home had been vandalised.

It looked like a bomb had gone off. Chairs, tables, smashed cups and plates were everywhere. He slowly rose weakly to his feet to survey the damage.

He knew that he should not have let that shady creep into his home. That guy was dodgy from the start. He had a very old sounding voice and he sounded well educated. But after he had brought a heavy frying pan to his face, he had forgotten who he was.

His hearing was the last to wake up, he heard the faint noise of somebody talking. His body tensed as the voice slowly grew louder.

He's still here.

He grabbed the closest thing that could be used as a weapon, a dented and slightly bloody frying pan. He presumed it was the same one Edgely used to knock him unconscious since there was a massive crater in the middle. Wait, he was missing the headline. There was BLOOD on the frying pan. That should have been the giveaway! He allowed himself a few moments to let his brain unscramble. The voice sounded like it wasn't going anywhere.

Strange…

Tightly gripping it with both of his hands, he slowly made his way towards the living room door since he was certain the voice was coming from there.

Hiding behind the door, ready to swing, he counted to three in his head and burst into the living room.

He relaxed when he realised that the sound was only his TV.

He reached the kitchen sink and quickly turned on the cold water and allowed it to furiously cascade from the tap. He cupped the water in his hands and splashed it onto his face. The sudden searing pain caused him to grunt. Normally, he would be careful so the water would not splatter everywhere. Now, he didn't care. He stared at what was left of the mirror atop of the sink to look at what was left of his face.

His lip and nose were busted and he had a massive black impact mark in the middle of his forehead. He wiped his face clean and held tissue at his nose to stop it from bleeding like there was no tomorrow. After a few moments of staring at his reflection in the mirror his mind suddenly snapped to one very important thing.

The evidence. He'd better not have taken it!

He rushed to his study and frantically searched the room for the evidence. He felt like a prison guard tossing a cell. He was continuously throwing things off windowsills and shelves at lightning speed. As his search carried on and on, he was panicking like a school boy who was lost and was late for his lesson.

It's gone. He took it.

Bastard!

He slammed his body into his chair in frustration as he planted his head on the desk with a loud thump. With the evidence gone, he could not give justice for that poor girl who screamed and struggled as she was dragged out of the courtroom in front of his own eyes.

Something caught his attention.

He gradually stood up and made his way into what was left of the living room. Everything was broken, thrown and shattered… Except the TV.

Why wasn't the TV broken?

Two familiar faces appeared behind a brightly coloured desk surrounded by an automated camera system.

"Hello and welcome to the SF News Network! I'm Jamie Matthew's…"

"And I'm Sarah Moffat! Our top story today…"

Harrison completely ignored the news as he pondered over that thought for a moment until a very unsettling news headline broke his trail of thought.

"Tragedy strikes downtown as the new Krei Tech campus is attacked killing 34 students"

The news struck him like a bullet. Then, a darker thought coursed though his brain.

Maybe the same man who attacked him did it.

Maybe he wanted him to see.

* * *

"Just over four hours ago, the Krei Tech campus was attacked as a massive explosion on the upper tier of the building has claimed the lives of 34 students in what Krei claims was a cyberattack."

The gang were gathered around Fred's gigantic flatscreen. His mansion was basically their base of operations. It was huge and it had everything they needed including the storage of their super suits and gear. Whilst the rest of the team were at the scene of the tragedy, Hiro had taken Astrid to live there for a while convinced that living on her own and shutting herself off from him and her friends could potentially damage her. She was now upstairs sleeping. Baymax now saw Astrid as his main priority and chose to stay in the bedroom with her to make sure she was ok. The "Big Hero 5" were all assembled downstairs watching a tragedy they could have prevented.

"12 other students have been severely injured and are being rushed to hospital."

The gang hung their heads in dismay.

"Furthermore, Krei claims that he called the now famous superhero group Big Hero 6 to help deal with the problem before the explosion happened. They took longer than expected to arrive and their leader was missing from the group."

"Sorry" Hiro could only say.

"Not your fault, your best friend nearly starved herself. Not trying to… blame her or anything…" Honey Lemon said in a comforting tone.

"I know" he quietly answered.

"Now we will join our corresponder Alex Wilson who is live at downtown San Fransokio."

A tall blonde in a black leather jacket holding a microphone stood in front of the campus building which now had a massive gaping hole at the side facing the camera.

"It was just four hours ago when a deafening explosion which came from inside the building caused so much devastation. People were screaming and running away in panic. A few minutes later, a mass of police, ambulances and firemen arrived on scene in which the building erupted into flames. Thanks to advanced firefighting techniques, the fire has now been put out."

"Anything on the Big Hero 6?" The inquisitive Jamie Matthew's asked.

"Yes, like you said they did arrive, but responded later than they normally would have done and their leader was missing from the group. We talked with Alistair Krei who wished to not be recorded and he said that their leader openly stated that he would not come but promised him that he would arrive soon. It's now been four hours and he has not arrived."

"So are you saying it's going downhill for the gang?"

"You must be joking!" Wasabi said whilst the reporter was stood there in silence due to the delay.

"Well… The Big Hero 6 have been a massive asset to the safety and security of the city. They have stopped crimes before they have gone out of control. However, everybody has their breaking point and it seems that the team had theirs, in which the staff and students at Krei Tech Campus have suffered for it.

"Thank you Ale…"

Hiro turned off the TV. He had heard enough.

Silence fell in the room. Nobody wanted to speak.

"It's my fault." Hiro said. "I went for Astrid instead of saving them."

"You had no way to know that was going to happen. You're only human" GoGo replied.

Hiro's response was a sigh.

"And it's not your fault that somebody out there just turned the press against us!" Honey Lemon added.

Fred bounced up from his seat "We all know how times like this can be, but we need to stay strong and work fast!"

Even though Fred was a goofball, he did have his moments of brilliance. This was one of them. Fred's dreams basically came true as soon as he could don his Kaiju costume and fight the forces of evil. As crazy as he was, the team would not be the same without him due to his sheer commitment to the cause.

Everybody unanimously agreed with him.

"Come on guys" Hiro perked up "We'll figure a way out of this mess."

The gang stood up and began to leave the room, in single file, to head to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Hiro's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Aunt Cass.

Hey Hiro! Did you see the news? Awful thing isn't it! Just got your text and I'm ok with you staying over! Have a good one! xxx

Aunt Cass always made him smile be it by text or talking about Mrs Matsuo who always wears something super inappropriate for an 80 year old. He always knew that no matter how dark things got, she would be his light to guide him through the darkness.

He replied to her text.

Hey Cass! Thank you for letting me sleep over! Have a good nights sleep! xxx

Hiro put his phone back in his pocket and joined the rest of his cohorts in the kitchen. Even though the mansion was ridiculously huge, they all stayed as quiet as possible to prevent a sleeping Astrid from waking up. They kept pausing to see if she was awake.

No sounds came from upstairs.


	10. Chapter 10: Rememberance Day

**Well, after spending today on my own after a dull and stressful few weeks of college. I poured my heart into this chapter. This is my first chapter that has broke the 3,000 word mark so I am very proud of this achievement!**

 **Thank you everybody who, despite the long gaps in between chapters, still decide to give the next chapter a read. It really means a lot to me! :)**

* * *

Black. The dullest colour of them all. That was all she could see. Just an endless mass of the colour black. But black is never really that dull now is it? To other people, black was the colour of power, sophistication, elegance and drama. For others it would mean darker things such as death. Do you wonder why when you read a book, any book. The writing is always black? Do you wonder why every time you read a chapter of your favourite story, a picture, tailored to you, would always be painted in your mind? Black is such an open colour. It means different things to different people. Black never has a concrete description. It's imaginative. To Astrid, black was her favourite colour because, to her, it meant nothing. No meaning. This was peace. This was what Astrid always longed for.

She never had to think about anybody or anything while she slept. Her sleep would always wrap her up warm and reassure her that everything would be fine. Then she would wake up. Her sleep would abandon her. She would have to face another day in a world that was never kind to her. Her sleep would gradually return. She would walk slower, think slower basically everything was slower. Welcoming her into its loving arms. Only sleep understood what she was going through. It would always make sure it gave her peace every night. Every night it would crawl into the bed with her. Wrap its arms around her. And let the darkness seep inside her mind until all she could see was that wonderful colour of black. It would never let her go until she had her long moments of peace.

Sometimes she had to remember some things. Sleep would help with that. If she had a bad day, sleep would allow her into a realm where she could have adventures exactly the way she would want them to be. Sometimes she would see and fight pirates. Save a mysterious creature from the deep. Or see her biggest idols who ever lived.

Sleep would also know when she was scared and would give her a terrifying adventure. The teacher she hated the most would turn into a giant man eating spider because she forgot her homework. Sleep intended to reassure her that things could be worse. It didn't know if it worked or not. But the fact that she snuggled up with it every night reassured it that she wasn't mad.

The black would not be around for long. Sleep had decided that tonight would be one of those times. Colours were slowly injected into her mind. Reds and yellows swirled and danced around the black canvas. Greens and blues would suddenly dart across in straight lines like a lightning bolt leaving its colourful trail behind like fumes from an aeroplane. Sleep had decided that tonight would be a time for reflection. To remind Astrid that even though her suffering was so great that she didn't really want to carry on, she still had people who cared for her.

The colours started to disperse and a blinding white light began to grow from the centre. As it grew and grew, it seemingly pushed the frenzy of colours aside. Shortly, all Astrid could see was white. She didn't wake up. She was ready.

Let's begin.

Astrid saw her black diary. It was not your average yearly diary though. It was a giant diary to document her life inside. Her personal library. It magically opened on its own to what she dubbed as the 'age page'. She began to fill it in when she was 12. How fitting to start there with one very brief but very important encounter. Her words were about to come to life in front of her very eyes.

 **Owned by Astrid Kelly age 12**

It was early afternoon. The streets in San Fransokio were packed. One extraordinarily smart boy with nothing to do was casually walking down the street with his messy, unruly black hair and wearing his signature red t-shirt, unzipped blue jacket and khaki shorts. There was somebody running up to him, looking like she was late and not paying attention to what was in front of her. It was one of those moments that Astrid forgot but knew exactly what was going to happen.

Collision in 3…2…1…

Young Hiro was suddenly swept off his feet and made impact with the cold Tarmac floor. After trying to comprehend for a few moments that he was pushed over, his gaze landed at a girl who looked exactly the same age as him with long brown hair and brown eyes panting with worry as she frantically rummaged around, picking up all of her school stuff that fell from her bag.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry are you ok?" She spoke to him in a rush.

"Yea… I'm fine… I think" A startled Hiro replied back.

"Honestly, this is the last thing I wanted! I'm late for school, had no breakfast and now, because I was not paying attention, I had to bash into you! Honestly I never meant for this to happen I…"

"Woah calm down! I'm ok really! No harm done!" Hiro interrupted as he stood up. He saw that she was still struggling with her stuff. He clambered over her stuff to help.

"Here, let me help you"

As he knelt down to pick up her stuff, she noticed that his knee was bruised from the impact.

"Oh my god! Look at what I've done to your leg!"

"Huh?" Hiro asked and looked at his bruise. "Oh look at that! It's nothing! It doesn't hurt much."

"But look! What if it bleeds! Oh my god what if it…"

Hiro calmly stopped what he was doing and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's just a bruise, it's nothing, calm down. You are overreacting.

Astrid took a deep breath. "Sorry… It's just… When stuff like this happens I'm normally blamed and get a punch in the face…"

"Well I'm not one of those guys." Hiro reassured her as he helped put her things in her rucksack.

"Well… You'd better get to class! This will make a great excuse to the teachers though!"

"I know right!" Astrid laughed as they both stood up. Hiro stared at her and smiled.

"Well… Oh gosh I'm bad at this bit so… uh… Nice to meet you…?

"Hiro… Hiro Hamada" he finished for her. "And you are?"

"Oh… Astrid Kelly!"

"Nice to meet you too!"

"Thank you… Uh… See you around?"

"Sure thing!"

Astrid turned and continued running. Hiro stared at her for a few moments before he continued with walking down the street.

Suddenly a flash of white light seemingly paused the scene. As the white dispersed, a new scene appeared. It was the day after meeting Hiro at the end of school. After bidding goodbye to her small circle of friends she began walking home. A hand from behind her tapped her shoulder. She jumped and turned around.

"Hello again!" Hiro greeted.

"Oh… My… God! What are you doing here!" She said surprised.

"I was wondering about… Bored and realised that school ended right about now so I popped down to see you!"

"But why! We just bumped into each other in the street!"

"I never forget a friendly face!" He said as he began to walk with her down the street. "I don't really have anybody to talk to except for my brother. Everybody takes the mick because I'm smart."

"How smart?" Astrid curiously asked.

"Already in my last year!"

She gasped "Shut up!"

"It's true! School mostly tells me stuff I already know!"

"I'm so jealous! I would give anything to skip school!"

Hiro smirked "Well… School isn't that bad… PE is fun… Especially soccer."

"Oh I'm rubbish at that! It looks like so much fun but I can't even kick it properly!"

"I'll teach you how if you want!"

Astrid stopped and turned to face him.

"Ok… So… We have only known each other for what… A day now? And you are already asking to spend more time with me?"

"Got a problem with that?" Hiro asked.

After a few moments of deliberation with her mind, her final answer was…

"Uhh… No?"

The white flashed again. This time changing the scene to a soccer field during that weekend. It was a hot day and they were both in their PE kits. Astrid was learning from the geek how to play the game.

"Ok.. So the first rule of kicking a soccer ball is to never kick it with the front of your foot."

"Why?"

"You stub your toes and it hurts."

"Ah…" Astrid said as she did not want to admit that she always kicked this way. She had always wondered why her toes hurt after each soccer session.

"Always kick it with the sides of your feet. Like this!"

Hiro suddenly belted the ball and landed into the goal with pinpoint accuracy.

"See!" He said looking at her with a smug look on his face.

"Show off…" She muttered and Hiro burst out laughing.

The scene suddenly sped up showing Astrid kicking the ball a number of times.

"Ok… Now I'm going to be the goalie! Get it in the goal!"

"But you'll get it every time! You're the genius and I can't even kick a ball properly!" She protested.

He stared at her sternly. "Nothing will get done if you think of yourself like that!"

After sighing, Astrid took the shot. Hiro caught it with ease.

"See! I can't do it!" She shouted

"Astrid… If at first you don't succeed…"

"I've heard that rubbish too many times now!"

Hiro laughed at her comment. "Come on! I'm not letting you go until you score a goal!"

"Oh for gods sake…" She muttered in frustration as she prepared to take another shot.

The vision suddenly kept on jump cutting to every time she took a shot. Hiro kept on catching the ball. One moment showed her kicking the ball and for some reason hit Hiro in the crotch. Astrid burst out laughing.

"Hey! Watch the junk!" Hiro shouted at her.

"Sorry!" Was all she could manage to say as she could not stop laughing.

At the next shot, for some miraculous reason, she managed to score a goal. The vision showed Astrid scream and jump in crazed delight as Hiro ran towards her and tackled her into a hug.

Another white flash showed the pair sitting on a park bench a few months later.

"I'm really glad I met you" Hiro confessed.

"I'm not that special…" Astrid answered.

"You are the only person so far, outside of my family, to not bully me because of who I am. So when I say I'm really glad I met you… I really mean it!"

Astrid thrust her arms around him. This took Hiro by surprise and he did not know what to do for a few moments. He decided to go with the flow and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm glad I met you too." Astrid whispered back.

 **Owned by Astrid Kelly age 13**

The whistle stop tour of visions showed Astrid stressing out as she began to start revisions for exams and Hiro's proud moment as he was the youngest kid to graduate high school. The visions kept on showing Hiro's relaxed lifestyle now school was over, and Astrid pulling her hair out with ink smudge covered fingers. Despite this, when both worlds converged, they both acted like nothing was happening. But that was normal. Typical life of an ordinary teenage girl. But bad news hit her like a bullet and stopped her in her tracks. How bad? To her it felt like the end of the world.

There was less to show since the older she got, the less she wrote. But one scene stood out from all the rest. It was a quiet Thursday evening. Hiro arranged to meet Astrid in the park after school. She came and sat down with him. It could have been another normal chat until Astrid saw how concerned and serious his face looked.

"What's wrong?"

"Wha?" Astrid asked, taken by surprise.

"Come on Astrid… The signs are all there! We used to see each other without warning all the time. Now you only see me when I ask you to which… No problem with that by the way but…"

Astrid stared at him. Man he was smart. She really didn't want to break the news to him. She did not want him to be worried about her but she guessed he already was.

"Every time we meet you talk to me less and less. And… I look at you and you look more and more… Sad. I know you are keeping something from me. And that something is hurting you so much. Now I'm not going to sit here and watch you visibly suffer. I want to help you. That's why I called you here. I want the truth. I'm not letting you go until you tell me what's wrong."

Astrid stared at him as he held her hands in a tight but comfortable grip. She knew he was telling the truth. He had never lied to her. But she had lied to him telling him she was fine when she was really screaming on the inside. She took a deep breath and prepared to spill the beans.

"Well… My dad told me he was going to the doctors for a normal check up a few days ago. He would normally be back on the same day but he didn't show up. So mum rang up the hospital to check if everything was ok… They said they are keeping him in because something has popped up."

"What happened?" Hiro asked still holding onto her hands.

"Well… We drove there the next morning hoping everything was going to be fine and as it turns out… He was ill. So he was going to have an operation to remove something… Few days later we get the phone call sayin…"

Astrid suddenly stopped as she could not contain her emotions any longer. As she started sobbing Hiro wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"What did they say? You need to be brave and tell me what they said."

After a few moments of sobbing she finally said it.

"He… only has a year to live"

She broke down into tears as Hiro did nothing but hold her tight in his arms. Hiro was about to say something but the vision flashed to white again.

 **Owned by Astrid Kelly age**

A teardrop suddenly fell on the number 14, the book suddenly closed to reveal a crying Astrid standing next to her grieving mother both dressed in black. The vision suddenly showed a gravestone. And the writing engraved onto its black marble surface.

Andrew Kelly

Beloved husband and father

Will be missed by all

The scene suddenly changed to show a time lapse of the many days and nights she spent on her own. Heartbroken by the fact that no matter what she did, her dad would never be there. Hiro would always message her but she would never reply. A few months later, it was now her turn to graduate school. Those few months were spent without Hiro Hamada. And now her rocky relationship with her mother began.

Every argument, every tantrum, every scream and shout flashed before her eyes. The pace slowed down to show her mother, alone, slowly walking into the Lucky Cat Café. She sat on the furthest table, alone. Coincidently, Hiro was helping in the café that day and walked towards her to take her order.

"Hello! Can I get you anything?" He said cheerfully.

"Time alone."

Hiro stopped and stared until he suddenly walked away to have a word with Cass. It was a quiet day so she let him have a break. He then walked back to Jessica and sat down at the table with her.

"Listen… You don't look good. Care to tell me what's wrong?"

"Shouldn't you be working?" She muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm on a break and I've decided to spend it talking to you."

She finally met his gaze. "Never met anybody like you before"

"I can't just sit there and watch people suffer in silence now can I?" He smiled at her, trying to get her to smile back. He succeeded.

"Well… My name is Hiro Hamada… And you are?"

"Jessica Kelly"

The surname rang a bell.

"It's… Not ordinary for teens to randomly sit somebody down and talk to them…"

"I've been through a lot."

"Looks like we both have something in common." Her quiet and tired voice said.

"So… Your story then!" Hiro asked as he sat up straight.

Jessica sighed "It's my daughter. Stuff has... happened and we've argued… and we both now keep our distance. I never want to see her like this… I try to put her on the right path but she fights back and… argues with me."

"She have a name?" Hiro asked.

"Astrid"

No wonder her surname rang a bell. He was talking to _her_ mum. He tried to speak but he could not bring anything out. She just told him, clear as day about what she had done to herself. This was his chance to get back into her life again.

"Why is she angry at you?"

"Well… I'm an army girl… So I can't be there for her all of the time… My husband used to look after her. He worked the night shift at the hospital so it was pretty easy to look after her My husband would spend his day with her, I would come home and we would have dinner together, then I'd take care of her at night. He's dead now. She spends most of her mornings on her own working on this project to gain entry to the San Fransokio… Technology place.

Even better… She was unknowingly entering back into his life again.

"I go there… I know what it feels like."

"She spends all day at it! When I come home every day she is shattered and so… Frustrated that she can't think of anything. I try to tell her to give it a rest for a while but she screams at me… This is her future… And she wants it dearly. She wants it so much that we barely see or speak to each other because she locks herself away from everybody."

She buried her head into her hands in frustration. The teenage boy was still sat there listening to her.

It's strange… I've barely known you and I've basically told you my life story!"

"Because you know, deep down, that I'm somebody you can trust."

They both looked at each other in silence. She let herself talk to him. She knows he has been through this madness. Now was the time to get back into his best friend's life again.

"Jessica."

She gave him a helpless look.

"Let me help her."

A blinding white flash paused all of time. Everything was standing still. Finally, the image darkened and changed to see the 'age page' again.

 **Owned by Astrid Kelly age 15**

Despite everything that happened, she had never wrote anything in her diary at her current age. With nothing left to show, the book magically closed on its own and her vision faded back to black again. The point was proven. No matter how lost she felt, she would never really be lost. Hiro would always be there and he would always come and find her. Every single time.

As her brain began to wake up, the sleeping Astrid realised that she never knew or wrote about the conversation in the café between Hiro and her mum. So how was it in her dream? As her senses slowly woke up with her she realised that a pair of arms were still wrapped around her. Why didn't sleep let her go already?

As she slowly opened her eyes, she realised that, snuggled up with her with his arms wrapped around her, was not sleep. It was Hiro.

She knew that he was her peacemaker. He would always be there with her. No matter how hard it got.

He was the monster that gave her peace.


End file.
